Comments on: Mark Vallen on political art http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2005/12/20/mark-vallen-on-political-art/ redraw democracy Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:06:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1.3 by: eliot http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2005/12/20/mark-vallen-on-political-art/#comment-1661 Tue, 20 Dec 2005 23:04:13 +0000 http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2005/12/20/mark-vallen-on-political-art/#comment-1661 thanks for bringing up my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Rosewater">creator.</a> i guess vonnegut falls towards vallen's second argument, on the value of art lying in its transcendence. slaughterhouse five has the best example of this, in the first part, when vonnegut's friend tells him that writing an anti-war book is the equivalent of writing an anti-glacier book. one thing i will say about the banana-cream pie quote you brought up: in the context of his writing and his commitments it makes sense and i can appreciate it. but: a friend of mine was very active in the movement against the first gulf war. she helped organize a major rally at columbia university on the eve of the war, when everyone was feeling completely under siege by pro-war propaganda and media/government fervor. there were thousands of people, a long list of exciting and distinguished speakers a number of conscientious objectors who were facing serious jail time for refusing to fight. they were followed by the keynote, kurt vonnegut, who walked onto the stage, stood in front of the mic, said that every anti-war movement had the effect of a banana cream pie falling off a ladder, and walked off the stage. in that context, it's pretty heartbreaking. and the war went on, ended, and started again. so it goes. thanks for bringing up my creator. i guess vonnegut falls towards vallen’s second argument, on the value of art lying in its transcendence. slaughterhouse five has the best example of this, in the first part, when vonnegut’s friend tells him that writing an anti-war book is the equivalent of writing an anti-glacier book.

one thing i will say about the banana-cream pie quote you brought up: in the context of his writing and his commitments it makes sense and i can appreciate it. but: a friend of mine was very active in the movement against the first gulf war. she helped organize a major rally at columbia university on the eve of the war, when everyone was feeling completely under siege by pro-war propaganda and media/government fervor. there were thousands of people, a long list of exciting and distinguished speakers a number of conscientious objectors who were facing serious jail time for refusing to fight. they were followed by the keynote, kurt vonnegut, who walked onto the stage, stood in front of the mic, said that every anti-war movement had the effect of a banana cream pie falling off a ladder, and walked off the stage.

in that context, it’s pretty heartbreaking. and the war went on, ended, and started again. so it goes.

]]> by: rations http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2005/12/20/mark-vallen-on-political-art/#comment-1660 Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:45:09 +0000 http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2005/12/20/mark-vallen-on-political-art/#comment-1660 maybe you've read this before but here's an excerpt from "in these time" of an interview with Vonnegut: <b>How have you gotten involved in the anti-war movement? And how would you compare the movement against a war in Iraq with the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era?</b> When it became obvious what a dumb and cruel and spiritually and financially and militarily ruinous mistake our war in Vietnam was, every artist worth a damn in this country, every serious writer, painter, stand-up comedian, musician, actor and actress, you name it, came out against the thing. We formed what might be described as a laser beam of protest, with everybody aimed in the same direction, focused and intense. This weapon proved to have the power of a banana-cream pie three feet in diameter when dropped from a stepladder five-feet high. And so it is with anti-war protests in the present day. Then as now, TV did not like anti-war protesters, nor any other sort of protesters, unless they rioted. Now, as then, on account of TV, the right of citizens to peaceably assemble, and petition their government for a redress of grievances, “ain’t worth a pitcher of warm spit,” as the saying goes. -------- i think vonnegut is a good example of an artist who is very much politically aware but whose own art is politically charged but not aimed--like BORF's. if you're interested the full interview is here: http://inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=38_0_4_0_C maybe you’ve read this before but here’s an excerpt from “in these time” of an interview with Vonnegut:

How have you gotten involved in the anti-war movement? And how would you compare the movement against a war in Iraq with the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era?

When it became obvious what a dumb and cruel and spiritually and financially and militarily ruinous mistake our war in Vietnam was, every artist worth a damn in this country, every serious writer, painter, stand-up comedian, musician, actor and actress, you name it, came out against the thing. We formed what might be described as a laser beam of protest, with everybody aimed in the same direction, focused and intense. This weapon proved to have the power of a banana-cream pie three feet in diameter when dropped from a stepladder five-feet high.

And so it is with anti-war protests in the present day. Then as now, TV did not like anti-war protesters, nor any other sort of protesters, unless they rioted. Now, as then, on account of TV, the right of citizens to peaceably assemble, and petition their government for a redress of grievances, “ain’t worth a pitcher of warm spit,” as the saying goes.

——–

i think vonnegut is a good example of an artist who is very much politically aware but whose own art is politically charged but not aimed–like BORF’s.

if you’re interested the full interview is here:
http://inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=38_0_4_0_C

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